Dating back to 1924, Butterworth Spengler employs 30 people in Liverpool and has been bought by its management team backed by national operator JM Glendinning. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool insurance broker Butterworth Spengler has undergone a management buyout backed by national operator JM Glendinning.

Butterworth Spengler’s existing management team, led by managing director John Lacey, will jointly own the business along with JM Glendinning, a UK top 45 brokerage based in Yorkshire. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

With a history dating back almost a century to 1924, Butterworth Spengler employs 30 people in Liverpool and operates across three divisions – commercial insurance, professional risks, and specialist schemes. It will continue to trade under its existing name.

The deal is the latest instalment in an expansion drive by JM Glendinning which itself underwent a management buyout in November 2020, backed by private equity investor Synova Capital.

“The investment from JM Glendinning will allow us to grow more quickly and recruit some of the best people in the market, whilst our clients will continue to deal with the people they know well, said John Lacey.

“Being part of a larger group will also create career development opportunities for our team, which wouldn’t otherwise exist as a smaller, stand-alone business.”

The advisers on the deal were Grant Thornton and Osborne Clarke for JM Glendinning, with KPMG and Anton Stirrett, partner and head of corporate at law firm Bermans, acting for Butterworth Spengler. 

Nick Houghton, chief executive of the JM Glendinning Group, added, “Our success is in no small part down to our independence and the personal service we offer our clients. Butterworth Spengler is a well-respected broker with a similar culture and approach, working across the North West with clients ranging from large corporate to SMEs.

“Investing in the business will help both firms continue their growth journeys whilst enabling all of our clients to benefit from the greater buying power that being part of a larger group affords.”